Fantastic Things to Do in Tampa for the Whole Family


If you’re ready to let loose and have some serious fun, there’s no place like Tampa, Florida to fill your days with lots of fun and exhilarating activities. Lush greenery, crystal clear waters, and attractions galore make Tampa a place everyone can enjoy, and you’ll have more fun than you can shake a stick at.

David A. Straz, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts

If you’re looking for a culture fix, check out what’s in store for the season at the performing arts center where you can catch the latest Broadway musicals, operas, and many awesome events for the kids. Or how about watching a free movie shown outside on the Riverwalk? Now that’s pretty cool. Bring some chairs and blankets and watch a movie under the stars and near the glistening water.

Captain Memo’s Original Pirate Cruise

You don’t have to be a kid to love pirates and pirate ships, but you do have to be one at heart. Who wouldn’t want to take a cruise on an authentic-looking pirate ship and play on-board games, dance, and spot dolphins while taking in spectacular scenery? Board The Pirate’s Ransom where you can take a day cruise or a sunset cruise, each lasting approximately two hours. If you’ve got a young one celebrating a birthday, you’ll be a hero with a one-hour birthday cruise where kids can play games, wrestle a pirate, and shoot water guns at the “bad pirate.” The birthday child even gets his or her own pirate costume to wear.

Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo

You don’t want to miss the chance to visit the number one zoo in the US as voted by Parents Magazine. Sure, you can see some of the most awesome animals on the planet, but where else can you touch and feed a white rhino, a giraffe, or a stingray? You can feed birds like the lorikeet or budgie as they land on you for nectar or seeds. You can also ride a camel, pony, or llama and have loads of fun at the petting zoo. The zoo even offers sleepovers for the whole family where you can take nighttime safari tours and sleep next to the manatees.

Canoe Escape

Take a two-hour or full-day tour along the Hillsborough River by canoe or kayak and see astounding beauty among the cypress trees. Depending on the season, you’ll spot alligators, wild hogs, white ibis, deer, turtles, and other amazing creatures of the wild. The Hillsborough River is known as a black river for its reddish-brown coloring caused by tannic acid which comes from decaying leaves and vegetation. The whole family will marvel at the unique beauty that surrounds the river. You’ll want to bring along a camera and plenty of batteries for lots of stunning photographs.

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

No trip to Tampa is complete without a visit to Busch Gardens. Simply put, it is a cornucopia of fun with one of the largest zoos in North America, lots of exhilarating thrill rides, and entertainment the whole family will enjoy. With so much to see and do here, you’ll need more than a day to experience all that the Gardens have to offer. You’ll be swept away by animals like the gorillas and cheetahs, rides like the ShieKra roller coaster and the Congo River Rapids, and be enchanted by shows like Sesame Street Presents and Critter Castaways.

Grab the family and head to Tampa for your next vacation and you’ll want to come back again and again. There won’t be a dull moment and the memories will last a lifetime.

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